Big Things

After my last update I got very busy picking berries, making jam, managing our household, and then we had visitors from out of the country. Brett's father and stepmother came down from Canada, and we had a few days where we spent every hour we could with them. It was lovely, and then they moved on to the coast, and the cottage they'd rented there.

The morning they left, we got them packed up, and then we drove down to my Mom's for her annual family BBQ. The next day, Monday, was quiet and lovely, but I had a bunch of chores to catch up on, and then Tuesday we all joined Brett's folks at the coast for the night. That brings us to Thursday, when a friend of Rachel's showed up on our porch unexpectedly, and hung out with her for a couple of hours, so we dragged him out with us to do our shopping, lunch, etc.

And now it's Friday again. Now I can see why my fatigue levels are what they are. If this kid complains on the first day of school about having done nothing this summer, I don't know what I'll do.

In the middle of all this activity, I had occasion to help out a long-distance friend with a problem she was having. I got it taken care of, and then moved on to the next thing, but a few days later she thanked me by reaching out to her extended friends, and imploring them to help out with Rachel's dog fund.

As a result of her effort, and a sale of more garlands, in a span of 3 days, we received $730 in new donations! Check out the thermometer. ---->>>> :) The first donation was from the friend I'd helped out, and I cried. Then more started rolling in, and by the time the 4th donation had reached the mailbox, I was a mess. I am so glad to have the people in my life that I do, whether they live near or far, or I have met them in person or not. These aren't just pixels on a screen to me; every one of my friends is real, and I love them.

Jam-making came to an abrupt halt when our visitors arrived, and I'm having a hard time finding motivation to begin again, but I have a bunch of berries to use before they get freezer burn, so I'd best get a move on. Still, this will be a much smaller effort than last year, when I canned almost 200 jars. It's just too much for one gimpy person.

So, as is often the case, I close this entry with gratitude. There is so much good in our life, and even on the bad days, we know we have friends; people who genuinely care, and want us to do well.

Thank you all so much-Kelly

We Be Jammin'

A couple of weeks ago we had only a vague idea of how we wanted to get started with our fundraising efforts. We had a growing pile of stuff in the family room, which was earmarked for a garage sale, and some artwork that Rachel had done, which was unique and interesting.


So, I took the artwork, which was in the form of two largish paintings, to a local blueprint company, and had them use their big scanner to make digital images, and put them on a CD for me. Good start, but what now? Hmmm. I decided to just think on it, and move on to the next thing.


In the meantime, we got the go-ahead to begin fundraising from Paws, so my friend and service dog mentor, Cindy Mitchell started promoting the custom cosmetic bags she'd designed, and I decided to make jam.


Rachel and I hit a nearby berry farm, and picked 17 pounds of berries, then visited Bi-Mart for jars and pectin. Another visit to the grocery store for sugar, and we were off. I had never made jam by myself before, so there was some consultation with Mom, and then I took a deep breath and fired up the blender.


When the first batch was done, I had 9 little jars, and asked Rachel to taste the result for me. She was so happy with it that I needed a picture of her eating it, and I thought that would be a cute picture for the labels. This is what we ended up with...

Wanting something catchy and memorable for the name, Rach helped me choose Rachel's Raise the Woof Marionberry Jam. I got to work making more jam, and Rach helped get the labels on.

Before the jam had cooled, Cindy was asking for 4 jars, and then word got out, and we needed more berries. Rachel and I picked 13 more pounds, and got to work.

Brett went to work with a couple of jars one day, and a few more the next day. The day after that, he took a flat, and then asked me to bring out 2 more. I had 21 jars not spoken for, so took them out, and helped take 12 of them into the office, where we got to say thanks in person to several of the folks who bought the jam. 

This time Brett went with us to the berry farm, and we picked another 13 pounds. In doing the math, I calculated that we canned 117 jars of jam. I now have 20 jars available for sale, and fully expect them to be gone before the garage sale we're having this weekend. I am overwhelmed and grateful for all of the people who bought the jam, and can't believe the excitement that a homely jar of jam could generate.

Our friends at Redbuilt really came through for us, and we can't thank them enough. In addition to cash for the jam, there was more than one outright, and very generous, cash donation. Thank you all so much.

In addition to the many, many sales to Redbuilt associates and their families and friends, we have had friends from ebay, the epilepsy foundation, and my arthritis support community wanting to help us out. We really are blessed to have such a fantastic network of support.

The artwork Rachel did has been transformed into greeting cards, which are still at the printer, but will be finished soon, and we hope to sell those at the garage sale, and will be available to anyone else who might want them, too. Watch this space for more info.;)

-Kelly